Woodburning stoves normally have to be charged every several hours in order to keep the fire from going out. This is a particular problem at night, and in order to keep a fire burning all night long, it is necessary to get up in the middle of the night and place logs on the fire so as to ensure a fire upon awaking in the morning.
Another problem in charging stoves, particularly with green wood is that the wood is slow burning and initially hard to start.
In an attempt to produce automatic fire kindlers, several devices have been proposed such as the device shown in U.S. Pat. No. 615,216 wherein kindling is stored outside of a fireplace and upon being activated is rotated on a frame over the fire located in the fireplace for being deposited therein. One problem with such a device is that it is quite complicated and unsightly and also bark and the like will drop off the logs around the surrounding fireplace.
A similar device is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 625,243.
In U.S. Pat. No. 2,122,314, there is disclosed a fuel supply means for brooder stoves wherein coal and the like is carried adjacent the top of the stove and by tripping a latching mechanism, the coal is deposited in the furnace. It is noted that the coal is positioned directly over the fire and as a result it is possible if the coal is not isolated from the fire to have premature combustion.
Other automatically charging furnaces are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,862,477 and 3,888,231.